Short, short commentaries on note-worthy things.

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Fight Against Smugglers

Here’s a news article that sort of gave me mixed sentiments. The 168 Mall in Binondo was recently raided for allegedly being a haven for smugglers. Gloria described it to visiting businessmen and officials from Washington as “the biggest raid in the history of the Philippines.” The obtained goods were mostly from China. Duh.

There’s are two sides to every story.

I know that this operation is a good sign for those doing legitimate business. It ought to encourage (or scare) businessmen to follow the proper procedures and pay the proper duties. As the article mentions, hopefully this will encourage more foreign and local entrepreneurs to do business in our country.

I also know that this may mean less cheaper made-in-china stuff. Sure, they’re cheap and breaks easily and lacks quality. But the wallet dictates the spending limits. Given my slighly-above-the-minimum-wage wage, I often try to find the bargain items when doing my shopping. For now, cheap is the practical option.

The question though is whether the government can sustain the momentum or will they eventually get tired of siezing the same people? It might end up just like the fight against piracy, which means, it might not end at all.